At Katherine's invitation, I am posting her response to my private e-mail sharing my postings on parent-l regarding LLL's lack of political activism. Rachael Hamlet ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 11:04:18 -0500 To: "J. Rachael Hamlet & Duncan L. Cooper" <[log in to unmask]> From: [log in to unmask] (katherine a. dettwyler) Subject: Re: Me and my big mouth<keyboard> Dear Rachel, You are welcome to post this to parent-l. I think your original message, and your second one, are both clear and well-put. I too share your frustration with La Leche League's desire to be inoffensive, although I understand it. They see themselves as a one-issue group, and prefer to support women one-by-one, rather than work to change the social and political climate on a grander scale. They have taken great pains over the years to steer clear of anything controversial, such as abortion, religion, ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) IN ORDER TO keep focused clearly on their one mission in life. I admire them for their steadfast devotion to mother-to-mother support, and their dedication to the "catching flies with honey" approach, even though it may not be the approach I would use in all circumstances. They expend an enormous amount of energy combatting negative views of their organization as being radical, left-wing, right-wing, commie, fascist, etc. I'm exaggerating here, but I do know that LLL has been accused of being many things that it is not, and is constantly fighting the battle of misperceptions about what they are and what they do. That doesn't mean there isn't room for other groups to be more politically active, and I think your work is a giant step towards accomplishing some of the wider goals we all hope for, making the U.S. a parent-and-children friendly society. So many of the women they help still think they are the only ones facing a particular problem, and don't see the wider picture. But LLL's goal is to help women breastfeed successfully, one mother at a time, not to change the world. Final comment to the parent-l list members -- everyone's views should be welcome on parent-l. It is all too easy to flame someone from the relative anonymity of e-mail. Expressing a desire that LLL be more politically active is a valid thing to do. I fail to see how it can be construed as "airing dirty linen" -- as I don't think LLL needs to apologize or be defensive about its choice not to be politically active. Remember that reasoned, rational discussion will help all of us! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D. email: [log in to unmask] Anthropology Department Texas A&M University phone: (409) 845-5256 College Station, TX 77843-4352 fax: (409) 845-4070